


Love doesn't have to be perfect, as long as it is real

by LoenaAdams



Category: WTFock | Skam (Belgium)
Genre: Developing Friendships, Friendship, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, M/M, Mental Health Issues, References to Drugs, Sobbe - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-07
Updated: 2020-05-07
Packaged: 2021-03-03 03:34:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,177
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24058303
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LoenaAdams/pseuds/LoenaAdams
Summary: 'You deserve him.'Sander makes a sound of disbelieve.'I am serious, the things you do for him no one has ever done anything like that.''It is just the basic of a relationship, nothing that special.'Jens blows a low whistle. 'No wonder I haven't been able to stay in a healthy relationship. I didn't know it was the basic to paint a fucking mural to declare my love or to book an expensive penthouse suite.'A much needed Jens and Sander conversation
Relationships: Sander Driesen/Robbe IJzermans
Comments: 13
Kudos: 159





	Love doesn't have to be perfect, as long as it is real

The music was pounding in Sander's ears. He wasn't feeling well and the lights flashing in his eyes weren't exactly helping. He was sitting on a couch at a random party where he barely knew anybody. Sander let out a deep sigh and checks his phone again, waiting for his boyfriend to respond. 

Robbe had begged him to come to this party with him because he claimed couldn't handle it without him and Sander started to see why. He was sitting next to Amber and Aaron and he was regretting every single decision that let to hearing those two kiss.   
Apparently, you could read of his face that he was grossed out because Jens came out of nowhere and grabbed his arm. 

'Come on let's get out of here before we get nightmares.'   
Sander tried to avoid bumping in someone when he attempted to follow the taller boy.   
Jens has clearly been here before because he took the shortcut towards the backdoor, staying clear from all the shitfaced people.   
It is raining outside so they looked for shelter at the porch. Sander closes his eyes for a second and enjoys the silence. 

He regrets going to this stupid party but he had promised his absent boyfriend. They were supposed to meet up at Moyo's house for a pregame but Robbe had to cancel literally last minute. He needed to help his mother with something but he would come soon as he could.

Since Sander was already had Moyo's house and he didn't have an excuse to leave. He was stuck with the broers. 

The black-haired boy holds up a joint.   
'You want some?'   
Sander shakes his head even though he is tempted, he wasn't going to lose his streak.  
The other boy shrugs and lights his joint.   
Sander feels weird sitting here alone with Jens. He doesn't really know anything about Jens and this is probably the first time they are alone. 

They hadn't talked much at the beach because of the whole Britt thing. Sander knew he was the ex of his then-current girlfriend so it would be weird to become best mates.   
And now he was dating his best friend which also caused some natural tension between them.   
The artist would never admit out loud but he was jealous of the bond of the two skaters. He knew that it probably would vice versa but he didn't know Jens well enough to be sure about that. 

'Robbe told me that you had your first fight this week?'

Sander slowly nodded and realised that Jens only got him out of there because he wanted to talk to him in private.   
'But is all good already.'  
Sander tries to ignore the appealing smell of weed. He feels anxious and he knows that a simple blunt can make it go away. 

Jens snorts 'As if you two can stay mad at each other.'   
They sit in awkward silence for a while. Sander tries to breathe through his mouth to avoid the smell of weed. 

Sander never really knows how to act around Jens. He can't pinpoint what Jens thinks of him. Usually, Sander doesn't give a shit about what people think about him but he knows that Jens means much to Robbe.   
For some reason, they have never been able to keep a conversation going if it is just the two of them. Aaron and Moyo are a lot easier to talk to. They talk so much bullshit that you only have to listen. 

'You got mad at him right?'   
The older boy let a deep sigh, the last thing he wants is to talk about that stupid fight. 'Told you it was all good already.'   
Silence again.  
'I have apologized.'

Jens holds his hands up in defence. 'Didn't mean to offend you dude, just wanted to talk about Robbe with you. He told me why you got mad and I just want to tell you a story.' 

Sander lifts his eyebrow and looks at the other boy, wondering if the other boy was already drunk. 'You want to tell me a story?' 

The taller boy blows out his smoke which makes Sander move away from the boy.

'After Robbe came out to me I was baffled. Not because he was gay but because he was so scared to tell me. I could understand why he wasn't eager to tell Moyo or Aaron but I couldn't wrap my head around the fact that he thought that I would break up our friendship over his sexuality.   
At first, I thought it was just Robbe being Robbe overthinking everything but after the reaction from Moyo and Aaron I understood that I had been a terrible friend.'

'What do you mean? I thought the boys had no problem with him?'

Jens takes another drag from his joint and lets out a small laugh. 'He didn't tell you? Typical Robbe.'

'What happened then?' 

'I don't know if it is that important because it is all good now.'

Sander lets a frustrated groan. 'It was important enough for you to bring up in the first place.'

'Let's just say the boys needed some time to get used to the fact Robbe wasn't straight. Nothing terrible happened but it was just a little awkward but now they are very supportive. They just needed to get used to it, they didn't have bad intentions.' 

The older boy lets out a low whistle. 'Friends of the year.'   
Sander wasn't impressed by Jens efforts to justify his own and his friends' behaviour.   
He knew they were part of the reason Robbe had a hard time accepting being gay and he didn't like the way the broers had treated him during their week at the beach house.   
He hadn’t forgotten that stupid prank. 

Jens looks at Sander with an unreadable expression on his face.   
'You really care for him don't you?'

'You don't even have a clue.'

The black-haired boy smiles a little. 'I am glad that he has you. Robbe deserves to be happy especially after everything he has been through.'

'I wish I could give him everything he deserves.'

'I don't think you understand how much you mean to him. Robbe isn't used to someone putting him first.' 

Sander snorts 'The bar is quite low then.'   
Jens face changes completely. He doesn't look like his usual chilled self, he looks somewhat uncomfortable.'

'I know you got mad at him earlier this week because he doesn't stick up for himself. He lets everybody walk all over him and yet he is always the only one apologizing but it is just the way he has been treated since a child.'

Sander sits up a little straighter. 'What do you mean?' 

Jens takes a deep breath and puts his joint away. 'I honestly don't know if I should tell you. It is not my place to tell but I don't know how to talk about it with him and I think he needs to talk about it.'

Jens starts to rub his face. 'He will kill me if he finds out that I told you.'

Sander knows what the right thing is to say but he doesn't say it. His curiosity is stronger than his rational thoughts. 'I think you should tell me if it can help him.'

Both boys stare at each other for a while. Jens is clearly trying to figure out if he can trust Sander.

'You won't use it against him or anything?'

Sander shakes his head.   
'I just want him to be less insecure about himself.'

Jens takes a deep breath. 

'Robbe and I have been best friends since kindergarten. I was an outcast, I wasn't very good at sports and I had different interest than other boys of my age.   
It was not like I was being bullied or anything, I just didn't fit in.   
Robbe felt bad for me and always tried to include me. He asked me what I liked to do so I told him I liked to skate. He didn't know what that was so I showed him that was the first time we hung out together and for some reason, it just clicked. After that day we were friends  
We always walked to school together, played games and did other stupid stuff. One day after the summer break when we got to the schoolyard our teacher walked straight up to his and started to congratulate Robbe.

'With what.' Sander isn't sure if he wants to know the answer. 

'His birthday. I remember feeling bad because I hadn't congratulated him or had a present or but Robbe was just a clueless as I was. He had no idea it was his seventh birthday.   
That teacher was an absolute angel, she had given the janitor the order to get something out of the supermarket so Robbe could share something.  
So he would feel like it was his birthday.

It was a Friday and because both my parents worked on Friday I always went home with Robbe.   
When we got home Robbe showed his parents the crown the teacher had made for him but they didn't even look. They told Robbe to go away because the grown-ups needed to talk.

I didn't understand what was going on. When it was my birthday, my parents would get me presents, cake or anything. It was always celebrated.   
I felt bad so I convinced Robbe that his parents would have a surprise for him and they were only acting this way because that would make the surprise even bigger.   
I remember how he looked at me, so hopeful. I told him that no parent would ever forget about his or her child's birthday.  
His parents were again passively arguing during dinner not even paying attention to their child or asking how his day was. 

After dinner, his parents still hadn't said anything I asked why they hadn't said anything about Robbe's birthday and where his presents were and I will never forget the look on their faces. They looked just at each other blaming each other in silence. They both had forgotten and you should have seen Robbe. 

Jens shakes his head a let out a deep sigh.

‘Do you want to know what he said? He said that it didn't matter that there were more important things than his birthdays. His birthday wasn't anything special, just a normal day and you could just see in his eyes that he wished his parents would disagree.   
His mother had tears in her eyes but before she could speak, his dad had already spoken. He agreed with Robbe and told him he was a good boy.'

Sander closed his eyes and takes a deep breath. He doesn't know what to say. He knew that Robbe didn't have a good relationship with his dad but he wasn't aware that it had always been this bad. 

'His dad is truly a piece of shit. I still can't believe what he did last year.  
We just came back from school to play some video games when we heard a lot of screaming. Not something unusual but this time it was only one voice.   
Robbe's dad had left. He had taken all his stuff and just left without saying anything to Robbe.   
His father just left him dealing with his mother who couldn't take care of herself. I was there for a few days and I have never seen more chaos. Robbe had to skip school to make sure his mother didn't do anything insane.  
It took his father two weeks to respond at Robbe phone calls.   
Two weeks where he let a fifteen-year-old boy deal with a mess he partly created.   
He told Robbe over the phone that he and his mother would get a divorce and that he would send some money every month. No explanation, no apology, no advice nothing. '

Sander shakes his head in disbelief. He couldn't wrap his head around the fact that someone would treat their child like that especially when you have the sweetest kid. 

'I know his mother was ill and stuff but she wasn't helping the situation. Every time Robbe would try to leave to go stay at my place or go to school or something she would guilt him in staying home.  
She was heavily depressed and heard voices in her head. I don't exactly know if she had a diagnose and what that would be.  
At some point, Robbe's aunt came to visit.   
She had no clue about what had been going on.   
She pushed Robbe's mother to seek professional help and it went a little better for a while but Robbe still needed to take care of her.' 

The older boy feels like he has been punched in his stomach. He can't help but notice some similarities between him and Robbe's mother.

Jens seems to be able to read his mind.

'Please don't compare this to yourself. You are his boyfriend you two take care of each other but that was his mother. Someone who is supposed to take care of him, a safe place. Plus he chose to be with you. It is a completely different situation.'

They stay silent for a while. Sander tries to process everything he just heard about his boyfriend. He feels a strange pain in his chest. 

'I am sure they also had their good moments. Robbe loves his mum more than anything. His parents don't deserve an award or anything but they are both trying now. '

Sander shakes his head. 'That is too late now. They fucked him up yet he still one of the kindest people. He didn't deserve any of this. Nobody deserves him. '

'You deserve him.' 

Sander makes a sound of disbelieve. 

'I am serious, the things you do for him no one has ever done anything like that.'

'It is just the basic of a relationship, nothing that special.'

Jens blows a low whistle. 'No wonder I haven't been able to stay in a healthy relationship. I didn't know it was the basic to paint a fucking mural to declare my love or to book an expensive penthouse suite.' 

'The mural was an apology and I also benefited from that hotel suite. '

'What about all those drawings you make for him? Those goodnight and good morning texts you send every single day? The way you always make sure he isn't uncomfortable?'

Sander tries to take a deep breath when he feels his blood rushing through his veins.   
'That is normal shit! You have no idea what he does for me every single day! I can never pay him back for all those little things he helps me with.'

'You make him happy that is already enough.'

'I hope so.' 

'Sander, I wanted to have this conversation with you so that you could understand Robbe better. It was never my aim to make you feel like you are not enough.   
You know since you two have started to date Robbe has been sticking up more for himself. He tells people no, calls them out when they say inappropriate things, he makes his boundaries clear and so much more stuff.   
When I look at you two, I see a perfectly balanced couple. You both have strengths and flaws but they complement each other. It is like Yin and Yang.'

'To be honest I am jealous of you two and I know I am not the only one. You found true love at such a young age.'

When Sander looks at Jens, he sees that the other boy has tears in his eyes. He reaches out to clap Jens against his shoulder. 

'You will find someone who is perfect for you. You know before Robbe I thought I would never experience true love. I thought it wasn't for me because of my illness. I was lonely for a long time even though I was dating other people. I never felt truly loved for the person I am but with Robbe it is different. I can be myself without being judged.   
I know it sounds cheesy but I believe that there is someone like Robbe for everybody.' 

Jens gives a small smile. 'I am glad he has you.'

Both boys jump up when the backdoor suddenly slams open and the porch is filled with loud music.  
'There are you two, I have been looking for you for ages, Robbe is finally here, he is in the kitchen asking where you two are and you never guess what just happened.'

A very excited Aaron is standing in front of them 

'Tell me' Jens stands up to follow Aaron back inside. 'Are you coming, Sander? Robbe is probably dying to see you.'

'I will be there in a second.' 

Sander waits until the music fades again and takes a deep breath.   
Tries to stop himself from shaking. He isn't sure if he is going to talk about everything with Robbe. It is Robbe's own choice if he wants to talk about it or not but at the same time he wants Robbe to know that he can talk about it. 

He slowly walks back to the house that is even busier than before, trying to make up his mind. When he has finally found the kitchen, he also finds a very happy Robbe surround by his broers.

He walks towards his boyfriend and gives him a quick peck. 'Hey beautiful man.'  
A shy grin appears on the younger boys face.  
'How are you doing?'  
Sander shrugs 'Have been better.'  
Robbe looks him in the eye for a second.  
'Want to get out of here?'

'You only just got here.'

Robbe wraps his arms around Sander's neck and wrinkles his eyebrows suggestively. 'I would rather be alone somewhere with you.' 

Sander places his hands around the waist of the brown-haired boy.  
'I am sure that can be arranged.' 

Robbe laughs and turns around to say bye to his friends. 'You are not already leaving and stealing Sander, Robbe. I still want to talk to Sander about a drawing I made.'   
'Well if you hadn't been so busy with Amber you would have gotten the opportunity, now it is my turn. See you boys tomorrow at the skatepark?'

Sander is looking at Jens for a second who gives him a small nod and Sander is aware that their relationship has slightly changed after their conversation. It was a small step in the right direction. They both wanted the best for Robbe so they would slowly try to become friends. 

When Sanders walks back home holding hands with his boyfriend he concludes something.   
He slowly pushed Robbe against a wall from a house, gives him a soft kiss.   
'I love you and that is truly the only thing that matters.'  
Robbe gives him a small smile.  
'I love you too.'

Because it doesn't really matter right now that they aren't perfect, that they both have scars, that they struggle sometimes.   
They have each other and they are happy now and that is the only important thing.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading!  
> Please let me know if you notice any spelling or grammar mistakes


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